BEFORE: The closed-off kitchen in the 1960s Minto bungalow was small and outdated. The original pushbutton cooktop was a relic of the era, as were the original wood cabinets. The entire kitchen was gutted during the renovation.Handout photo
/ Ottawa Citizen

The renovation included a fireplace upgrade and new, dark hardwood floors. Renovators and home flippers Kristy Sheppard and Chantal Hospodar targeted the finishes toward young, professional couples. The strategy worked, as the buyers were a young family from Halifax relocating to Ottawa for work.Chris Mikula
/ Ottawa Citizen

BEFORE: The living room before the fireplace upgrade and the installation of new floors.Handout photo
/ Ottawa Citizen

The renovation of a 1960s Minto bungalow in Crystal Beach was both a creative outlet and a business opportunity for two ambitious moms.Handout photo
/ Ottawa Citizen

Related

Every day at the crack of dawn Kristy Sheppard and Chantal Hospodar are packing lunches, doing dishes and driving kids to daycare — but soon after, their aprons and purses are tossed in exchange for reciprocating saws and sledgehammers.

That's because these designer moms are passionate about taking cosmetically challenged houses and bringing them into the 21st century.

That's what they did with a 1960s Minto bungalow at 13 Harlowe Cres. in the city's burgeoning west-end neighbourhood of Crystal Beach. The area has been going through a gradual revival and will continue to gain in popularity once the Department of National Defence moves into the former Nortel Networks campus nearby on Carling Avenue.

Sheppard and Hospodar, both mothers of two young children, purchased the home in April, gutted it, renovated it top to bottom, and sold it — all within a couple of months.

"We are both in design and thought it would be a fun project to be creative and also to take advantage of how rapid the Crystal Beach area is being reinvented," says Sheppard, who left her high-tech job after having her children — and then surprised her husband one day when she told him she bought a house to renovate.

"It's becoming more popular now for young active families so we created a very urban and contemporary feel, opened up the main living areas and put in top-notch finishings."

This is Sheppard's fifth project and Hospodar's first. These Kanata moms met when their young boys were in junior kindergarten together and soon became friends.

They learned they both had a passion for design and real estate, and that their fathers had worked in construction together when they were young. So when Sheppard found the perfect home to renovate, they thought, "Why not team up?" and bought the house together.

"It worked really well," says Sheppard. "So this was our tester."

A test may be a bit of an understatement. The home now boasts sleek dark hardwood, a modern, open-concept kitchen with quartz counters, new bathroom with custom tile and double sinks and an extra basement bedroom with ensuite — a far cry from when they first stepped foot in the house.

Back then they faced a faded green carpet, yellow walls, dark wood panelling, and odd space eaters like a dated laundry chute and a dank, dark, cold storage room in the basement.

The closed-off kitchen seemed small and sported original dark brown cabinets and an old-fashioned push-button cooktop.

It was perfect.

Sheppard and Hospodar have their go-to trades people — electrician, plumber, drywall and flooring contact — on speed dial. But to cut costs, the duo rolled up their sleeves and ripped apart the house themselves.

"We're both hands on," says Hospodar, a single mother, who also works as a part-time property manager. "We didn't mind getting dirty, and getting physical. Because when we are not doing this, we are ripping apart our own houses basically (and renovating them)."

Considering it would have cost them at least $9,000 to hire someone to demolish the kitchen alone, they figure they saved at least $50,000 doing the lion's share of the grunt work and dirty prep work, which included knocking down walls, ripping up old carpet and baseboards, removing five layers of vinyl flooring, assembling all the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, painting, and even carrying out a cast iron tub.

"Our plumber was like, 'You girls are not getting that out of the house,'" says Sheppard. "By the time he was done, it was at the curb."

The ladies say the most challenging task, and now considered the funniest looking back, was the kitchen they say was built to be "on there for life."

"It was the karate chops and crow bar smashes and reciprocating saws, standing on a ladder with goggles," says Hospodar, adding that the old cabinets seemed to be screwed, nailed and glued to the wall. "The backsplash and countertop was all one piece. We had to literally cut it in pieces to get it out. We were determined. We were like, 'We are going to do this'. We kept saying 'We can do this.'"

To accomplish such a quick turnaround time, they worked around the clock, seven days a week, co-ordinating pickup and drop-off times from daycare. And, of course, "lots of Tim Hortons" to keep them well-fuelled.

They say their recipe to staying sane among the chaos was to keep organized lists of jobs to tick off, text and e-mail to keep each other in the loop, and ensure their own home was in order, because by the time they had clocked 14 hours a day in a dusty construction zone, they needed the serenity of a clean house to decompress.

"The key was to be organized at home," says Hospodar. "So if things were getting messy at home, it would disrupt my thinking. So I had to stay focused here and focused on the schedule at home ... and keep kids on their schedule."

Given their focus is rejuvenating older homes, they made sure the "bones" were good, with a solid foundation, no leaks, and wiring that was up to code — because what drove them to take on this big job is seeing their creative vision realized.

"It's a creative outlet, trying new designs and finishes, and to always stay on trend," says Sheppard, adding that their goal of targeting the finishes toward a young professional couple worked, given the buyers were a young family from Halifax who have come here for work.

"It's just fun to see what you can do (with a tired home)," says Hospodar. "To see your vision come alive."

Given the success of their first project together, they are now scouting out their next reno project.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.